FORD FOCUS RS WRC PASSES SEVERE CRASH TEST

COLOGNE, Germany, 8 May, 2009 - Continued measures to improve safety by further strengthening the Ford Focus RS World Rally Car enabled Jari-Matti Latvala and Miikka Anttila to escape injury during their violent crash on last month's Rally of Portugal, accident investigators have revealed in a comprehensive internal report.

BP Ford Abu Dhabi World Rally Team's report into the incident on the first day of the rally highlights how the car's cutting edge design features saved the driver and co-driver from serious injury. Such is the strength of the Focus RS WRC that despite plunging around 200 metres down a hillside, many areas of the car's bodyshell can be rebuilt and used in further rallies later in the year.

Latvala's accident on the fourth round of the FIA World Rally Championship was one of the most dramatic in the sport's history. Footage of the crash has been watched more than 450,000 times on the YouTube video sharing website.

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